


Keeping Faith, and Shouldering Burdens

by Draco_Amante



Series: Drabble Challenge 2015 with Unkissed [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-26
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2018-03-19 19:10:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3621033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draco_Amante/pseuds/Draco_Amante
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Drabble Prompts: Hogsmeade Weekend, blood, and fire.</p>
<p>Draco invites a few old friends to meet up at the latest cafe to crop up in Hogsmeade.<br/>It doesn't go at all according to plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keeping Faith, and Shouldering Burdens

**Author's Note:**

  * For [unkissed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unkissed/gifts).



“You know, I’m sure even you weren’t that awkward,” Rosa remarked, eyeing a young Hufflepuff boy trying to chat up a bored looking Ravenclaw girl. Clearly, it was a Hogsmeade weekend - Circe only knows why Draco thought it would be a good idea to invite everyone to meet up in Hogsmeade on a day when it was sure to be full of, well, hormonal teenagers.  
Theodore just shrugs slightly, privately thinking he was probably more awkward, but knowing better than to say so. Rosa never took his self-deprecation too seriously.  
They’d only been married a year or so, but it felt as if it were already a lifetime. Perhaps it was destiny (Theo’s preferred theory), or maybe just plenty of time being messy and awkward and growing up together (Rosa’s). Regardless, they were now invited everywhere as a couple.  
Except today.  
It was no secret to Theodore that Draco Malfoy considered him to be a waste of space, and certainly not worthy of his closest friend. Rosa, however, deliberately pretended not to notice the animosity between friend and husband, and it was because of this that they were now headed, together, to a nice new restaurant just off the main street, to meet Draco. Together.  
Theodore was rather certain there was going to be bloodshed.

When they stepped inside, it was obvious the moment Draco noticed that Rosa had Theodore in tow. The smile in his eyes (somewhat betraying his customary sneer) instantly turned into the sort of glare that could pin a lesser man to the spot, and did indeed skewer the poor waiter as he hurried over to take Rosa’s cloak.  
“Draco, darling. It’s been an age. Do you realise there is a small army of students outside? Thank fuck there aren’t any in here.” The small flinch of the snooty woman at the next table at Rosa’s swearing lifted Theo’s spirits enough for him to add, perhaps foolishly,  
“By the way, I hope you don’t mind me joining you.” It was absolutely clear that Malfoy did, in fact, mind rather a lot. Yet where Rosa was perfectly willing to piss off the aristocracy, Draco was too thoroughly one of them.  
“Not at all,” he replied, through gritted teeth, and Theo sweeps Rosa into her chair, drags another over and slumps down into it, watching Malfoy’s back grow straighter in response.  
Perhaps this might be fun.

Unfortunately the game is somewhat ruined by the arrival of Blaise Zabini, who has grown to be incredibly gorgeous, incredibly tall, and overall incredibly imposing; and his latest paramour, a lovely young Japanese girl who seems oddly taken with Draco. Theo can sense Rosa growing ever more tense at his side as the girl dominates Draco’s attention, and although Blaise seems not to care, it’s only a matter of time before Rosa puts a stop to the not-so-subtle flirting.  
“So, Midoriko - what is it you do for a living?” the poor girl has no idea that the polite question has any sort of backing to it, and simply responds cheerfully that she’s recently joined the staff of the Daily Prophet.  
“I thought so - you wrote that article on the need to integrate Muggle culture and Wizarding, didn’t you? Something about ‘moving forward’, ‘traditions so ancient that anyone who follows them seems somewhat petrified’?” the sweet little smile on Rosa’s face seems perfectly innocent, unless you know (as all three men do) that Rosa doesn’t smile sweetly unless someone’s about to get hurt. It’s the sort of friendly look a predator might use to lure in it’s prey.  
Draco, amusingly enough to Theo, does indeed look somewhat petrified at this little revelation. His face is absolutely granite, his posture as utterly rigid and unyielding as ever, and he remarks ever so casually dangerously,  
“Salazar, Blaise - don’t tell me you’re involved with a Muggle lover.”  
The atmosphere at the table is truly horrific, and part of Theo secretly revels in the fact that none of the animosity is directed at him (for a change). Midoriko looks utterly shocked, nailed to her seat, and her pleading look to Blaise is met with nothing but cruel amusement.  
“Well Draco, some of us prefer to have a little fun before properly settling down.” The implication is clear - Blaise is simply toying with the girl while considering which pureblood to marry - and suddenly Theo feels terribly ashamed of all of them. Midoriko looks as if she might cry.  
He knows that Rosa would say she was asking for it, flirting with another man in front of her date, but Rosa has a tendency to over-punish (he’s hardly blind to his wife’s flaws, whatever anyone may say about it); it looks as if it’s up to him to save her, and the only way to do that is to put himself in the firing line.  
“Don’t be silly Blaise - Draco has plenty of fun. Surely you recall the things he got up to at school?”  
Rosa kicks his ankle, but playfully, and grins. She certainly knows, and Draco knows she knows, and now all of the awkwardness is on Theodore’s shoulders. He takes a decent swig of his brandy, needing the fortification.  
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Draco responds, but it’s clear in his eyes that he’s thinking of all the sex, drugs, and violence, and the fact that seated at this table are the few people who know the most about it; in fact, Rosa insists she knows all about it, although she refuses to ever tell anyone any details.  
Fortunately, just as everyone descends into silence, Pansy arrives in a whirl of designer clothing, and they are all distracted by her stories of Milan.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t last. Their food arrives, and Theo is uncomfortably aware that Rosa is being seductive at him. She does it on occasion - it’s fun to torture him, watch him squirm a little in public, knowing he can’t do anything except sit there and try not to let on that she’s getting to him. There’s no need for him to flirt back, in fact that takes away some of the cruel joy of it, and plainly Midoriko is picking up on it, silently watching everyone for the next attack. Just for fun, Rosa takes a moment to send a flirtatious wink at the wretched thing, and watches the blush spread. Interesting.  
“You know, sometimes I wish we were back at Hogwarts,” she remarks, watching for everyone’s reaction. Theodore looks predictably horrified, having hated his time at Hogwarts, and Draco glares at her as if to demand what the fuck she thinks she’s doing. Pansy laughs.  
“Why on earth would you wish that?! We were such a bunch of little horrors.” Blaise smirks at her.  
“Oh I don’t know, Pansy, I think your fiance would disagree, don’t you?” Pansy actually blushes a little, and Rosa knows she’s recalling all the things she got up to with Dash - the sort of things a sister doesn’t really want to know the details of.  
“I think Rosa was rather more wild than I was, thank-you very much,” she snaps back at him, and Rosa just grins like a shark at Midoriko.  
“Definitely. But you know, rampant promiscuous bisexuality and drug use isn’t the sort of thing one can keep up forever, and you know, I think it’s much easier to handle when you’re young.” Theodore kicks her under the table, and it’s only then that she realises that perhaps toying with a young reporter might not be a good idea - Draco is clearly seething.  
“I suppose you would recall our days at Hogwarts as a vague haze of pleasures, but forgive me, I have no desire to return to days of almost burning alive and being sliced up by righteous ‘heroes’.” He stands and storms out, and Rosa doesn’t hesitate to dash out after him, kicking off her heels to keep up.

“Draco, wait, fucking hell,” she calls, but his stride just lengthens as he makes his way towards the castle. “You know damn well I was just screwing with Blaise’s latest toy!”  
Abruptly, Draco stops just in view of the gates to Hogwarts, and she staggers into him a bit as she catches up. Since she’s there anyway, she slings an arm around his waist and rocks him a bit.  
“Draco. We were all so fucked up, sometimes all I can do is laugh about it. I’m sorry - you know I don’t always think before I speak.”  
He sighs softly, leaning into her in acceptance of her apology, and that’s all he really needs to say. Of course, being Draco, he can’t help but try to get the last word.  
“...she was flirting with me, wasn’t she? Even though Blaise brought her? Sometimes, with reporters, I think… I think they just want a story out of me.”  
Rosa grins broadly.  
“Oh, darling - I think you’re ready for what I have.” He gives her a small frown, questioning.  
“I have someone who loves me, for all my flaws, who stands beside me even when it makes him look bad, and who would never ever betray my secrets. And I’m lucky enough to have you, too. You know you always have me, if you need me, but… I think you’re ready to move away from the pain, the meaningless measures we’ve taken to numb it, and just… find the person who can take the pain away.”


End file.
